As reported in the Jersey Evening Post’s front-page article on 2 February, 2005, Jersey’s fulfilment industry has come under close examination recently. Questions were due to be asked at a House of Commons all-party Treasury Select Committee about what the press described as a ‘VAT dodge’; the UK Government later stated that the industry is “perfectly legal”. This story followed others highlighting the interest big names such as Amazon, Tesco and Boots are showing in this area of the island’s economy.
Amazingly, ‘fulfilment’ has already become the island’s second-largest industry, ahead of the traditional economic staples of tourism and agriculture. Having such an important sector of the economy questioned in this way, and at this level, is clearly something for us all to consider carefully. With that in mind, it is worth explaining a little more about the ‘fulfilment industry’, and how it fits in with the work done by law firms in Jersey.
